From Fitness to Fashion – The Highlights

I was lucky enough to partner with Susan Andrews Kanoff (The Midlife Fashionista) who shares her amazing style for a Fitness to Fashion Workshop hosted by Helen Thomas Simply Smashing, a fabulous shop in Andover, Massachusetts. Our plan was to combine our areas of expertise and share some of our top tips for losing weight and looking great in the process!

I first opted to show everyone my “before” picture, and I explained how it was my fateful trip to a day spa when the one size fits all robe didn’t fit me, that prompted my journey to lose ninety-six pounds.

Think of food as a choice and not as a reward or punishment. You don’t “deserve” a decadent dessert, nor are you “depriving” yourself if you don’t have it.

Make workouts something you do regularly, just like brushing your teeth.

Switch up your exercise routines and make them something you genuinely enjoy such as dance lessons, Sunday morning bike rides or taking walks with friends or family.

Recognize the saboteurs. Resist the “just this once”, “just a taste or bite won’t hurt” and even the “you’re no fun anymore” from some of the people closest to you.

Eat foods in their lowest common denominator (whole form). For example, oranges instead of orange juice and shop the aisles on the outside of the supermarket where the least processed foods are located.

View your body like a race-car– where you wouldn’t use cheap fuel and the goal is for the car to take you someplace, not just be the destination itself.

Susan then shared some advice on how to look fabulous and not break your budget while you were your way down the size rack, and her tips included:

Make sure your closest only contains clothes that are in your current size. Holding on to smaller or bigger sizes does nothing for your self-esteem or motivation (contrary to popular belief!).

Stay away from big baggy clothes. Many women think that by wearing something oversized, it will cover them up. The reality is that your body takes on the shape of your clothes –so the looser the clothing, the bigger you may look.

Pay attention to your bras size as you lose weight…most likely you’ll need a few fittings along the way. A good fitting bra will actually make you look thinner!

Don’t spend a lot of money on clothes while you are losing weight since you probably won’t wear them for long. Stick to simple color palettes (colors that can be easily mixed and matched). Buy just a few pieces at a time and look for fabrics with stretch and styles that can easily be tailored in. Shop at consignment stores, Target, Old Navy and the clearance racks for transitional pieces.

A wrap dress is a great transition piece since it can be pulled in tighter as you lose weight.

Susan showing the many benefits of a wrap dress!Photo by Chantal Kellerd

Here’s a sampling of some of the delicious but guilt free refreshments: